View source for National Sports Training Centre Inverclyde

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'''National Sports Training Centre Inverclyde''' is a sports training facility in [[Largs]], [[North Ayrshire]].<ref name="2019-01-15-bbc" /><ref name="2019-ss-naming" /> It is the UK's first inclusive{{what|date=July 2023}} residential sports facility and caters for both elite athletes and the local community in a range of sports and activities.<ref name="2017-04-03-bbc" /> The facility is known in association football for being an education centre for managers.<ref name="2019-01-15-bbc" /><ref name="2004-06-05-scotsman" />
==History==
The facility is based in Largs, in a home built in the 19th century for the shipbuilder [[Robert Sinclair Scott]].<ref name="2019-01-15-bbc" /> Until its purchase by the [[Scottish Council for Physical Recreation]] (SCPR), it had been the Hills Hotel, and also had been commandeered by the army during the [[Second World War]].<ref name="2019-01-15-bbc" /><ref name="2019-ss-naming" />
The SCPR, the forerunner of the [[Scottish Sports Council]], purchased the hotel in 1956.<ref name="2019-ss-naming" /> [[Alan Burns, 4th Baron Inverclyde|Lord Inverclyde]] was the president of the SCPR, whose vision it was to establish a 'home' for Scottish sport. When Inverclyde died in 1957, the SCPR decided to name their new national recreation centre in his memory.<ref name="2019-ss-naming" /> It was opened by [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|the Queen]] in 1958.{{citation needed|date=January 2019}}
===Football coaching===
The centre is famous for training a generation of football managers such as [[Jose Mourinho]], [[Fabio Capello]], [[Andre Villas-Boas]], [[Giovanni Trapattoni]], [[Marcelo Lippi]] and [[Carlos Queiroz]].<ref name="2019-01-15-bbc" /><ref name="2004-06-05-scotsman" /> However this success led to accusations that the ideas developed created a "Largs Mafia" in football coaching.<ref name="2019-01-15-bbc" /><ref name="2004-06-05-scotsman" /><ref name="2013-01-08-herald" /> The football coaching courses moved to the new national football centre at [[Oriam]] in the mid-2010s.<ref name="2019-01-15-bbc" />
==Facilities==
The facility is now part of [[sportscotland]]. It comprises grass pitches, floodlit all-weather surfaces, an 860m square fitness suite and physical preparation area, fully equipped meeting rooms. It also has 60 twin bedrooms and has been recently rebuilt with inclusivity in mind.{{what|date=July 2023}}<ref name="2017-04-03-bbc" /> Although its principal function is to provide a practice area or a base for elite athletes and teams, it is also open to the local community to become members of the fitness suite, attend classes or hire a court or pitch 7 days a week.
==Redevelopment==
National Sports Training Centre Inverclyde underwent a £12m redevelopment and opened in its current form in April 2017.<ref name="2019-01-15-bbc" /><ref name="2017-04-03-bbc" />  It now offers inclusive facilities all under one roof and can cater for 120 wheelchair users in its residential facilities at any one time.  The redevelopment was funded by the [[Scottish Government]] [[2014 Commonwealth Games|Commonwealth Games Legacy Fund]], [[sportscotland]] and [[North Ayrshire Council]].<ref name="2017-04-03-bbc" />
==References==
{{reflist
|refs=
<ref name="2019-01-15-bbc">{{cite news |last1=Henson |first1=Mike |title=Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello and Andre Villas-Boas: How Largs shaped them |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46852372 |accessdate=15 January 2019 |agency=BBC News |date=15 January 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="2019-ss-naming">{{cite web |title=Why called Inverclyde |url=https://nationalcentreinverclyde.org.uk/about-us/why-called-inverclyde/ |website=nationalcentreinverclyde.org.uk |publisher=Sportsscotland |accessdate=15 January 2019}}</ref>
<ref name="2017-04-03-bbc">{{cite news |title=National sports centre opens after revamp |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-39435872 |accessdate=15 January 2019 |agency=BBC News |date=3 April 2017}}</ref>
<ref name="2013-01-08-herald">{{cite news |last1=Macpherson |first1=Archie |title=Small contribution to the 'Largs Mafia' cause did not go unnoticed by the game's capo di tutti capo |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13087363.small-contribution-to-the-largs-mafia-cause-did-not-go-unnoticed-by-the-games-capo-di-tutti-capo/ |accessdate=15 January 2019 |work=HeraldScotland |agency=The Herald |date=8 January 2013 |language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="2004-06-05-scotsman">{{cite news |title=Jose never tires of paying homage to Largs lessons |url=https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/jose-never-tires-of-paying-homage-to-largs-lessons-1-535623 |accessdate=15 January 2019 |work=www.scotsman.com |agency=The Scotsman |date=5 June 2004 |language=en}}</ref>
}}
[[Category:Buildings and structures in North Ayrshire]]
[[Category:Football academies in Scotland]]
[[Category:Sports venues in North Ayrshire]]
[[Category:Sports medicine in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Sports venues in Scotland]]
[[Category:Sport in North Ayrshire]]